Re: [asa] anti-evolutionism and deism

>>> "Freeman, Louise Margaret" <lfreeman@mbc.edu> 04/19/07 10:00 PM
>>>writes:

I'm having a source monitoring error because I can't remember if this is
something that came up in the course I took with Ted at Messiah, or in a
conversation with one of my deacons, but the suggestion was to ask this
question.

What happens if God were to vanish tomorrow?

******

Ted comments:
It might well have come up in my course, Louise, though I can't swear to
it.

I use this often with students. It comes from Richard Bube's book, "The
Human Quest: A New Look at Science and Christian Faith." That book includes
at the end of each chapter, several questions for discussion. At the end of
chapter one ("A Look at Some Questions"), there is the following question
(among several others):

If before reading this chapter you had been asked the question, "What would
happen to God and the world if God were to 'turn himself off'," what would
you have answered?" etc.

Dick Bube, who edited the old JASA for many years, is a distinguished solid
state physicist who taught a course on Christianity and science at Stanford
for about a quarter century--before political correctness forced an end to
it. Here is some information:
http://mse.stanford.edu/about_faculty/mse_fac_profile.php?sunetid=bube
http://news-service.stanford.edu/pr/95/950501Arc5255.html
http://users.stargate.net/~dfeucht/Seven%20Patterns.htm
http://www.asa3.org/ASA/JASA12-71Bube.html
http://www.asa3.org/aSA/PSCF/1989/PSCF9-89Bube.html **
http://www.christianmind.org/illus/patterns_color.htm ***

*** is a nice tabular summary of his book, "Putting it all Together," which
I have used a few times in my teaching.

** is as close as the ASA has ever gotten, to having an "official"
statement on the origins issue.

It's worth emphasizing, in light of current charges by Denyse O'Leary and
others that ASA people have no backbone and won't stand up to scientific
atheism, that Dick stood up to scientific atheism for his whole career at
Stanford, in highly public ways such as teaching a course, speaking in
churches and other venues all over the Bay area, and writing several books
about science and faith--books that directly challenge scientific atheism.
Not to mention, editing our journal while employed at a world class research
university. This type of charge is simply a crock, not to put too fine a
point on it, and Bube would be defense exhibit A.

Owing to back problems (a very tall man with a long back), Dick rarely
comes to ASA events outside of his local area. I haven't seen him since the
Wheaton meeting in 1991.

Finally, I recommended his book, "The Human Quest," to David Buller
yesterday. Even though it's long out of print, I continue to think it's one
of the best overall introductions to science and Christian faith that we
have. And, a great antidote to atheism.

Ted

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Received on Fri Apr 20 13:08:34 2007